A road sweep of the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series gives Oakland a nice momentum heading into tonight’s contests against the division-leading Astros.
Kick-starting the series for Oakland is Sean Manaea, whose last start also was against Houston, albeit in a 5-1 loss in Houston on June 21. Manaea pitched for six innings and allowed three earned runs on seven hits while striking out eight Astros. Manaea is striking out hitters at a ratio of 9.94 per nine innings, the best among A’s starters so he should present Houston’s hitters some trouble.
Speaking of trouble, Khris Davis has been for opposing pitchers of late. The outfielder is batting .305 this month with three home runs and 17 runs driven in.
Oakland is 3-0 in Manaea’s last three road starts.
Call Mike Fiers a low-key great performer. He’s not getting a ton of attention but Fiers has been one of the reasons why the Astros are succeeding this season.
A solid pitcher on the backend of the Astros’ rotation, Fiers is 5-2 with a 3.81 ERA across 14 starts. He’s been better lately, going 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his last four starts, including June 21’s 5-1 win in Oakland in which he pitched for six innings and gave up just an earned run on three hits. The Astros are 5-1 in Fiers’ last six starts overall.
Fiers will be complemented by Houston’s hot offense that has averaged 6.4 runs in the team’s last seven games. Houston is tops in the American League in runs, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
